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YEAR IN REVIEW - BLAST INSTITUTE IMPRESSES INDIANA EDUCATORS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF MINING

BLAST INSTITUTE IMPRESSES INDIANA EDUCATORS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF MINING

After taking a year to overhaul the objectives, content and methods of the IMAA Teachers’ Workshop, the Public Information and Education (PIE) Committee launched the BLAST Institute for Indiana educators. BLAST Institute stands for “Bringing Life to Aggregates: a Summer Teacher Institute.” The PIE Committee incorporated some of the best content and activities from the Teachers’ Workshop and suggestions received from teachers during the post-event surveys into the expanded 5-day Institute.

The BLAST Institute took place in June 2018 on Indiana University’s Bloomington campus. Each day of the Institute focused on an overall topic around which presentations, activities, and field trips were planned. Topics included geology, mining, environmental, and careers. Teachers visited the Falls of the Ohio State Park, West Side Tractor Sales, Rogers Group, Inc.’s Bloomington Quarry, the Merom Generating Station, and toured IU’s campus with a focus on use of limestone in architecture. IMAA’s partnership with the Indiana Geological Survey was an integral piece of the Institute, allowing the teachers who completed the full week of classes to go home with 30 Professional Growth Points toward the renewal of their teaching license.

Twenty teachers from all over the state attended the BLAST Institute. “We were able to see many aspects [of the mining industry] that most people don’t realize,” wrote Denise Dillman, a kindergarten teacher from Bedford, IN. “Before I attended this workshop, I was not aware that different limestone and quarries mine limestone for different reasons. Also, I did not realize all of the different uses of limestone.”

The BLAST Institute would not have been such a success without all of the hard work of the PIE Committee and the support of the sponsors. Fourth and fifth grade teacher Lydia Weber praised “The staff and sponsors wanted us here and to spread the word. Usually, unfortunately, we are not allowed to eat first, are expected to pay our own way and not engaged in the activities. This workshop is the BEST ONE I have ever attended in 33 years.”

IMAA staff and PIE Committee Chair Sonya Cowles would like to thank all of the volunteers, field trip hosts, and teacher sponsors for their dedication to this new format for educator outreach. IMAA also recognizes Ms. Cowles’ leadership and vision of the BLAST Institute to bring it to fruition.

A special thank you to BLAST teacher sponsors Rogers Group, Inc., Irving Materials, Inc., NALC, US Aggregates, VCNA Prairie Materials, Mulzer Crushed Stone, Hanson Aggregates, Shelby Materials, and General Drilling; and huge thank you’s for the employees at the Bloomington Quarry and West Side Tractor Sales in Bloomington, as well as the Indiana Geological Survey. The BLAST Institute will be back in 2020 to create more awareness among educators about the importance of mining.

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